This was one of those books were there are bits that I love, and some others that I'm a bit meh about.

I have to admit though, that it did get my attention, hence the rating it received. I'm a little disappointed that the author succumbed to the typical shifter trope of "mates" and all that entails. Personally I prefer that the MC's have to work for that kind of connection.

However, as I mentioned, the story did grab me, and I'm rating the 3.5 star up to 4.

Now I just have to sit and wait and twiddle my thumbs for the next one... lol. ( )

All I was going to do was read the first chapter, just to get a feeling for what this story was like. I am still not sure what it was—The situation? The characters? The dialogue?—but I could not put down the book. There is something very real, something fascinating, at least for me, in a werewolf story set in an otherwise completely contemporary world. The general public doesn’t know about shifters, yet there are some hidden politics going on, secretive, brutal hunters on the prowl, and a semi-military group that comes in to help. It almost sounds normal–except for the shifter part.

Joe may be a university professor teaching ancient history, but he knows his way around his father’s farm and is taking good care of it while his dad is in hospital, trying to fight the recurrence of his cancer. And, as it turns out, all those hours of Joe studying the various military strategies of now-dead despots and other leaders had a purpose after all. But, I am getting ahead of myself. The scene that pulled me in and that turns Joe’s world upside down is the beginning of, what I hope, a series of adventures around wolf shifters trying to survive genocide. Joe, like most farmers, is not a fan of wolves, so when he finds one on his father’s land he shoots it. Problem is, before he can finish the task, the wolf turns into a man and Joe has to figure out whether he’s gone insane, or whether he needs to adjust his thinking. Luckily for him and the wolf, who turns out to be so much more, Joe decides to use his brain.

Cal is on the run. The hunters, out to kill every last shifter on the planet, have already murdered his father and two eldest brothers. They are known never to give up once they have found a pack, so Cal is pretty sure he is next. He has little hope of escaping. He has been separated from his family (the females and children went into hiding but he doesn’t know where), and is unsure where his other four brothers are. For the first time in his life he is on his own. Having been told he is weak, since he is an omega, he doesn’t believe he stands a chance. But wen he meets Joe, and figures out what they are to each other, all of that slowly begins to change.

As the cliffhanger (grrr, Sue, the next book better be out quickly!) at the end of this first volume indicates, Joe and Cal, as well as the intriguing secondary characters, have a long way to go. The hunters don’t easily give up, a mysterious party has taken over financial support for eradicating the hunters,, human politics is just beginning to wake up to the fact illegal genocide may be going on, and I have a feeling a few more events are lurking just around the corner. Loved it!

If you like werewolf stories that feel so contemporary you may think the paranormal creatures really ARE among us, if two men from different worlds who need to learn to work together if they want to survive sound interesting, and if you’re looking for an action-packed yet entertaining read with some very hot man-on-shifter action, then you will probably like this novella. I definitely want more of the same—as soon as possible.


NOTE: This book was provided by Love Lane Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
( )